Method of making garment protectors



Au 2, 1938. E M. FRENCH 2,125,495

METHOD OF MAKING GARMENT PROTECTORS Filed April 4, 1956 ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 2, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKINGGARMENT PROTECTORS Application April 4, 1936, Serial No. 72,687

2 Claims.

My invention relates to that type of moistureproof garment-protectorsusually made of rubber that are worn by infants as a protective coveringfor the customary diaper, these protectors having suitable waist and legopenings inherently capable of expanding and then closing or contractingabout the infants body and legs to provide an effective closure andprotection and also to prevent any egress of moisture as well as to becomfortable for the wearer.

Heretofore garment-protectors of this type and made of sheet rubber thatis gathered or shirred adjacent the Waist and leg openings were providedwith means for contracting these openings about the body of the infantcomprising a strip or band of wide and flat rubber or elastic materialthat was fastened in any suitable manner around the margins of theopenings and inside the garment. The shirring about the openings allowedfor the expansion of the material of the garment when the inner bandswere stretched when the garment-protecter was either being put on ortaken off.

Such inner bands as have been commonly used and secured to the garmentinside the openings have been made with overlapping ends, whichconstruction occasions a distinct bulge or thickening of the leg orwaist openings because of this two-fold thickness of the inner bands atthese points.

Such bulges inthe inner bands are objectionable in use because of thediscomfort to the infant and also because they cause an undue puckeringof the shirred portions where the ends of the inner bands are broughttogether in overlapping relation and then cemented or otherwise securedtogether and finally attached to the shirred portions.

In the manufacture of these rubber garmentprotectors, these fiat innerbands of elastic material are important parts of the com leted gar mentin that they serve not only as a cushion for the shirred portions butthey also act as washers against the body of the infant so that suchinner bands prevent any moisture passing outwardly from the interior ofthe garment through the leg or waist openings.

According to the ordinary methods as now practiced these inner strips orbands of elastic rubber have been fastened to the garment as taken froma continuous roll on a pressure machine by which the rubber strips havebeen subjected to variable tension while being applied to the garment,thereby causing corresponding Variations in both leg and waist sizeseven after the ends of the band have been secured in overlapped relationto the inner sides of these openings on the shirred portions.

The main object of my invention is to obviate and overcome these defectsboth in the making of the garment-protector and in the resultingarticle, thereby providing a new and improved garment-protector in whichthe overlapping ends of the inner bands are entirely obviated along withthe uncomfortable thickening or bulged portions as well as to ensureaccuracy in the sizes of the openings which always remain the same in myimproved garment-protectors, which factor is of distinct advantage inuse.

My invention, therefore, provides improved methods of making thesegarment-protectors which embody an improved closure means forcontracting the openings about the body of the infant without causingany discomfort or any unsightly bulged portions around the contour ofthe openings, while at the same time affording a more complete andeffective protection as against the egress of moisture because of thepredetermined accuracy of the sizes of the respective openings.

These and other objects of my improvements will be hereinafter fully setforth and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawing which also shows my improved methods, in which- Fig. l is afront elevation of the improved garment showing a preferred form of theinner band as secured around the waist opening.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the continuous inner band before it issecured in position as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective detail view of the waist portion; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the several figures.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to Fig. 1 the body 5 ofmy improved garment-protector is preferably formed of sheet rubbermaterial or any water-proof fabric cut from a single sheet, andpreferably united by side-seams (not shown) between the waist opening 6and the two leg openings 1 and 8 with the shirring 9 formed in the body5 adjacent the waist and leg openings 6, l and 8.

This shirring 9 allows of a ready distension of the garment about theopenings when about to similar parts be placed around the body and legsof the wearer. ii

The waist opening .3 and leg, openings 1 and 8 are provided with innerelastic bands IU of rubber (only ene being shown'around the waistopening 6) in the form of a continuous looped band as shown in Fig. 2 inwhich the abutting edges andiIZ of the band ll] of a predeterminedlength are cemented or otherwise secured together without overlapping asa continuous loop while the rubber is in its uncured condition. Or I mayout these rubber bands It from a cylindrical piece of sheet rubber so asto form the continuous band or loop IQ of a predetermined size withoutthe necessity of cementing the abutting edges H and I2.

The next step in my method is to take the inner band I and stretch sameas a whole under substantially uniform tension greater than that of thebody 5, should the same be slightly stretched, and then secure samearound the inner side of the waist opening" 6, for example, either bycement or by pressing or crimping same when the body is unstretched orstretched adjacent the waist and leg openings which causes the edges ofthe body 5 around the waist and leg openings to gather or shirr withtransverse corrugations as shown in Figs.'1 and when the inner band !0,which has been stretched under tension during the securing thereof tothe body 5, is thereafter released and assumes its normal form. Insteadof crimping the margins of the body 5 opposite the band Ill as shownmore particularly in Fig. 3, I may fasten the inner bands I0, whenstretched as a whole, to the body 5 by stitching, but the crimpingmethod is to be preferred. Fig. 4 shows the relationship of the body 5and the abutting edges II and I2 of the continuous band ID in thegarment.

My invention, therefore, embodies a new and simplified method of makingthese garmentprotectors by first forming the inner bands II] ascontinuous loops of predeterminedsizes and then afiixing same, whilestretched under tension greater than that of the body material, to themargins of the body 5 inside the waist opening 6 and leg openings 1 and8 whiie the rubber bands [0 are stretched to accord with the size of theopenings when the material forming same is unstretched. When thecrimping, cementing or stitching of the bands I 0 to the body 5 has beencompleted, the contractile force of thereleased bands produces thenecessary shirring 9 as shown Figs. 1 and 3.

My improved garment-protector, therefore, embodies means for gatheringup in the iorm of gshirring 9 around the waist opening 6; and legopenings 1 and 8 through the continuous looped bands In or"predetermineggl sizes, and thereby also does away with the objectionableand uncomfortable bulging portions at those points in the Waist; and legopenings where the ends of the band strips commonly used have beenunited in overlappedrelationship that have occasioned undue puckering ofthe shirring 9 at such bulged portions of the overlapped band ends.Hence .my improved garment-protectors embody continuous inner bands ofuniform thickness throughout their entire periphery and also ensureaccuracy in both leg and waist sizes.

My invention is not to be limited to theparticular constructionshown asmany changes maybe made without departing from the principles of theinvention and without sacrificing its advantages.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method of making a garment-protector of elastic material having anexpandible opening, which comprises securing a previously formedcontinuous looped band of elastic material of uniform thicknessthroughout its periphery while stretched as a whole under tensiongreater than that of the material forming said expandibie opening aboutthe'inner face of the garment adjacent said opening, and then releasingthe tension of said wholly stretched band to produce shirring in thegarment material ad- 'acent the band.

2. A method of making a garment-protector of elastic material having anexpandible 'opening, which comprises securing a previously formedcontinuous looped band of elastic material with its ends in abuttingrelation of uniform thickness throughout its periphery while stretchedas a whole under tension greater than that of the material forming saidexpandible opening about the inner face of the garment adjacent saidopening, and thenreleasing the tension of said wholly stretched band toproduce shirring in the garment material adjacent the band.

. EDWARDiM, FRENCH.

